July 31, 2014 at
8:00 AM

7/31 Cup of Coffee: The looming trade deadline did not seem to have much affect on the affiliates, as they had a great day on the field Wednesday. Pawtucket, Portland, the DSL and the GCL squads all were able to collect victories, while Salem and Lowell fell in defeat.

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Pawtucket Red Sox 3, Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 2Chris Hernandez received the start for Pawtucket and lasted just three innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks. Ryan Verdugo added three scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and walk while striking out four. Alex Wilson picked up the victory for his two scoreless innings of relief, and Heath Hembree collected the save in his PawSox debut.

Mookie Betts got Pawtucket off to a quick start by leading off the bottom of the first with a home run, his fourth of the season. In the second, Garin Cecchini added a solo home run, his fifth of the season.

The game was knotted at two after the Chiefs tied the game in the third, and would remain that way until the eighth. In the eighth, Alex Hassan brought home Ryan Roberts on a sacrifice fly for the winning run of the game.

Game two of the series takes place at 12:05 this afternoon and will feature Edwin Escobar in his Pawtucket debut.

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Portland Sea Dogs 2, Reading Fightin Phils (PHI) 1Brian Johnson (pictured,above) was in control throughout as he hurled 7 1/3 quality innings, allowing one run on one hit and three walks, striking out four. Noe Ramirez picked up the victory for his 1 2/3 flawless innings of relief.

The Fightin Phils collected their lone hit and run of the contest in the first inning, and held a 1-0 lead until the eighth. After not being able to cash in on chances throughout the game, Portland finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth, when Heiker Meneses laced a two-out RBI double that brought home two.

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Carolina Mudcats (CLE) 13, Salem Red Sox 6
For the second night in a row, Carolina collected 14 hits on their way to another victory over Salem. Simon Mercedes fell to 2-8 as he lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks. William Cuevas did not fare much better, allowing six runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings of relief. Kyle Kraus tossed 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks.

Dreily Guerrero, Jantzen Witte, and Matty Johnson each had an RBI single in the loss. Aneury Tavarez and Kevin Heller each added a sacrifice fly.

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Staten Island Yankees (NYY) 5, Lowell Spinners 4Aaron Wilkerson pitched well for Lowell, hurling five innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks, striking out six. Oscar Perez allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, striking out two. Carlos Pinales took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in just 2/3 of an inning.

Sam Travis (pictured,right)and Mauricio Dubon each had an RBI single, and Cisco Tellez added an RBI double in the loss. Danny Mars was the lone Spinner without a hit, going 0 for 5.

Lowell held a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, when a key error from Dubon and a rally by Staten Island allowed the Yankees to plate four runs to win the game. The Spinners have now lost four straight, and are a season high eight games under .500.

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Game One: GCL Orioles 2, GCL Red Sox 1
Yesterday's suspended game between the two squads picked up again in the top of the seventh. K.J. Trader received the loss for the Red Sox, going 2 1/3 innings, allowing a run on four walks. Keivin Heras entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and allowed an inherited runner to score for the winning run, allowing two walks and a single.

Darwin Pena was 2 for 2 in the contest, and Michael Chavis was 1 for 4 with the lone RBI.

Game Two: GCL Red Sox 11, GCL Orioles 1Jose Almonte picked up the victory for the Red Sox thanks to five innings of stellar pitching, allowing just three hits and a walk, striking out three. Williams Jerez collected his first career save, hurling four innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit and one walk, punching out six.

Derek Miller was a nuisance from the top of the order, going 2 for 3 with four runs scored, three walks and three RBI. Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk, double and three RBI. Luis Alexander Basabe led the Red Sox offense with three hits, going 3 for 5 with two runs scored.

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DSL Red Sox 9, DSL Rockies 2Gerson Bautista received the start for the Red Sox, going five innings, allowing an unearned run on five hits and two walks to pick up the victory. Samir El Halaby added three innings of relief, allowing a run on four hits, punching out two.

The Red Sox offensive success was led by Raiwinson Lameda, who was 2 for 5 with a double, run scored and three RBI, as well as Luis Benoit, who was 2 for 2 with two runs scored, a double, triple and two walks.

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Player of the Day:Brian Johnson. The 23-year-old left-hander had a superb start on Wednesday, hurling 7 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on one hit and three walks, striking out four as Portland topped Reading. Johnson has allowed one run or less in nine of his last ten starts and is currently 9-2 with a 2.05 ERA in 16 starts since rejoining Portland.